I just don't think the old model of "one shot" software works. Firstly, security updates. Next, dependencies change over time and you want the software to still work. Third, adding new features and keeping it integrated with the OS / UI kits etc. requires ongoing work.
In theory you could have a single binary that never changes, ever, but it's just unrealistic.
Subscription models are fine, Jetbrains is the fallback if you're going to be super adamant about refusing to fund ongoing development, but software is not like other products. Maybe in the past when it was very simple within a simple ecosystem it was different.
There's something to be said for reducing the pricing to something more sustainable and more explicity upstream donations, but "pay once, have the developer continue to work for me for free if I keep it long enough" isn't realistic.
In theory you could have a single binary that never changes, ever, but it's just unrealistic.
Subscription models are fine, Jetbrains is the fallback if you're going to be super adamant about refusing to fund ongoing development, but software is not like other products. Maybe in the past when it was very simple within a simple ecosystem it was different.
There's something to be said for reducing the pricing to something more sustainable and more explicity upstream donations, but "pay once, have the developer continue to work for me for free if I keep it long enough" isn't realistic.